[dZired]

Hyundai has started accepting online bookings for its range of cars in India. Customers can now book any Hyundai car, ranging from the entry-level Eon to the flagship Santa Fe, through the company's official website. Booking amount for the cars ranges from Rs. 5,000 to Rs. 1 lakh.

With the facility to book cars through its website, Hyundai is aiming to enhance the virtual experience of its customers. This will enable prospective owners to book any car, without the need to visit the company's dealerships. The company is also claiming that this new platform will make booking a car much easier and faster.

Online bookings for Hyundai cars have commenced from Tuesday, May 2, 2017. In order to register a booking, customers need to select the car's model, colour, variant, fuel type, state, city and preferred dealership. Customers can book any Hyundai car through the desktop as well as mobile versions of the website.

Link to Team-BHP News

[ottocycle]

Good initiative. Can we still negotiate with dealer for discounts/freebies after booking the car online? Or we loose the bargaining power by doing so.

[RaghuVis]

How does this work? If we have 3 dealers in a city, does my booking go to all 3?

It will be damn good if Hyundai just calls all these 3 and say "Guys I have 5 bookings of Creta Top End. Contact these guys and try to see if they can buy it from your showroom"!

[i74js]

Is it so simple? I mean I will only use it for products with Zero discounts and waiting period, where I presume that the online booking will ensure transparency in management of queue and Hyundai as a company will back it up / take responsibility of delivery schedule.

I would still be scared of data mining wherein loan providers will start approaching me after booking - the fine print might say that Hyundai will share this data with its marketing team and associates!

Indians have started liking online purchases, it would be interesting to see the outcome of this initiative !

For all readily available cars, where I can bargain discounts etc. I would stick to face to face negotiations.

[DuHasstMich]

Just tried for Delhi, but not all dealers are listed. So only some dealers are onboard with this new concept? E.g. Even HMP does not feature.

I hope Hyundai publishes the VIN# of the car assigned to you from the factory itself, instead of customers running circles around the dealer asking for updates on delivery dates!

[i74js]

Originally Posted by DuHasstMich

Just tried for Delhi, but not all dealers are listed. So only some dealers are onboard with this new concept? E.g. Even HMP does not feature.

I hope Hyundai publishes the VIN# of the car assigned to you from the factory itself, instead of customers running circles around the dealer asking for updates on delivery dates!

Delhi HMP - is it still operational? AFAIK HMP Delhi ceased operations in 2015, they were not making money by selling cars as the dealers were offering better discounts whereas HMP was quite rigid in terms of pricing.

Service was definitely better, but that was about it !

[qr20de]

I'm not sure I see any advantages of this online booking portal.

I don't see it adding any value to a potential purchase. As a customer I will just have a look at the car online, pics, videos etc. then google 'Hyundai dealers Chennai', call the sales rep and take things from there.

Dealers are eager to come home and make the process as streamlined as possible.

Only if Hyundai starts the full sale of vehicles online, at a cheaper price, will I then consider. Up to that point, this is just a gimmick.

Originally Posted by ottocycle

Good initiative. Can we still negotiate with dealer for discounts/freebies after booking the car online? Or we loose the bargaining power by doing so.

That's a great point. I assume that if you can select a dealer on the website, the booking amount will probably go to the dealer. Just the same as paying the dealer directly. The discounts/offers are the next step anyway so shouldn't be affected.

[centaur]

Originally Posted by RaghuVis

How does this work? If we have 3 dealers in a city, does my booking go to all 3?

From the screenshot it can be seen that you need to select the Dealer. So once that is done, your booking is routed to the dealer you selected and they pick it on from there. And yes, it is mandatory to select the dealer before you can book. SO that solves the mystery

[GTO]

It's just lip service to the digital world and trying to show the company as being tech-friendly. More of a branding exercise than a process-driven one.

Still, this surely is a sign of things to come. Sometime in the future, the internet will change the way new cars are bought. No one can predict exactly how, but it's going to happen. Good thing that India doesn't have strict dealer franchise laws like the USA does, thereby allowing manufacturers to experiment more out here. The entire car buying process can easily be completed digitally. Sure, TDs are required, and those can be offered at the customer's home (as many dealers already do).

[SmartCat]

Originally Posted by qr20de

I'm not sure I see any advantages of this online booking portal. I don't see it adding any value to a potential purchase.

Value is added only if online quotes are displayed by different dealers. If one particular dealer is offering free insurance and another is offering free "teflon coating" for a particular model, then the customer can choose what he wants.

Now that enhances online sales experience - different quotes and offers from different dealers across the city.

[libranof1987]

As of now, it perhaps serves to bring in more transparency in the booking process. Given how most new launches have been running into long waiting periods, this will serve well to know when you can expect your delivery.

In the future, *automation* and *digitization* might take over physical showrooms.

It will take time though: we Indians sure love to smell and touch something before we buy it. Go the showroom, sit in the display car, fiddle with the buttons, change gears, try the ICE. This is what the buying experience is all about!

Originally Posted by i74js

I would still be scared of data mining wherein loan providers will start approaching me after booking - the fine print might say that Hyundai will share this data with its marketing team and associates!

I'm sure they do so even today!

[Nalin1]

Just a marketing gimmick to show that we are more customer friendly than others. Just as some builders have announced that flats can be booked online!

A purchase as big as a car warrants more than a couple of visits to the showroom, more than a couple of reviews and test drives, more than a single discussion with the sales advisers and after all that might as well book in the showroom (where there is no fixed amount as such) after negotiating for freebies, discounts etc.

[qr20de]

Originally Posted by smartcat

Value is added only if online quotes are displayed by different dealers. If one particular dealer is offering free insurance and another is offering free "teflon coating" for a particular model, then the customer can choose what he wants.

Now that enhances online sales experience - different quotes and offers from different dealers across the city.

Yeah would agree, but as of now they provide one price for the whole city/state. And to be quite honest, dealers won't advertise their offers online, or at least all. Will want to entice the customer with the initial offer and then present the rest in the dealership.

[Ketz]

Originally Posted by Nalin1

Just a marketing gimmick to show that we are more customer friendly than others. Just as some builders have announced that flats can be booked online!

Absolutely agree !! A car still is an aspirational purchase. In the competitive market today we have so many choices and drills down to a choice by physically seeing and test driving a car. I do not see any value add of booking a car online and cant phantom anybody really using the online channel.

[dark.knight]

There are a few things that shouldn't go "online", and buying a car is one of them. This procedure is useful only when people want to buy cars that have long waiting periods and hence can do the quick booking so that their delivery can happen sooner.

This cannot mean, however that factors such as test drive or introduction of the sales associate can be conveniently avoided. This brings back the same question - why at all do it? I guess its something like "booking" movie tickets and then going to the box office and picking them up, you have to go there anycase.

Its a highly illogical, yet brilliant marketing scheme (as is the general norm with e-commerce), you see people always hesitate to put down money, specially the large sums for a car or any other luxury product, we will always have that 2 seconds of doubt until we pay for it and the online booking facility helps us lock the transaction during the 2 minutes of buying obsession we will go into. I personally have never dabbled in online commerce and perhaps never will, things need to change for that to happen :

- Prices should be reasonable and non-negotiable (only company offers apply per month)
- There should be 'good faith' prevailing in all transactions in the nation, as of today that hasn't happened, Indian businesses are cheats for the most part.
- Online booking should merely mean online booking, the business should then proceed to take things ahead with the buyer as if the booking is subject to their quality of dealings and can be cancelled if found unsatisfactory. In no way should it signify that the buyer is locked in after the mere booking.